Biden Administration Proposes Nationwide Protection of Old-Growth Forests

The unprecedented proposal aims to prevent commercial logging on all 193 million acres of U.S. forests and grasslands, safeguarding some of the nation's oldest and most carbon-rich trees.

Biden administration proposes changes to protect old-growth forests across the U.S., preventing commercial logging on all 193 million acres of forests and grasslands.
The proposal is a first-of-its-kind from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to amend all 128 forest land management plans.
The Forest Service will also initiate the process of updating the Northwest Forest Plan for climate resilience, including for mature and old forest ecosystems.
The old-growth forest protections would protect some of the nation's oldest trees, many more than 100 years old and rich in carbon.
The proposal would benefit about 25 million acres of old growth overseen by the Forest Service, of which 45% is not protected from logging, and allows continued cutting under specific conditions.